Pichchurr Hall - Fanaa

The mere thought of watching the incomparable Kajol back on the screen after such a long break was incentive enough to ensure that I watched Fanaa as soon as possible after its release. Add that to my new-found respect for Amir Khan and it was with a heightened sense of expectation that I went to watch the movie.First impressions first. The start of the movie has rather bold shades of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Amir, rather surprisingly, hams to an aweful extent. And for a movie that has the rather poetic word Fanaa for a name and starts off with the heroine's mother waxing eloquent with shayari, the hero has some really corny couplets. Whats worse, the girl actually gets impressed by them. What could have possibly become a uniquely beautiful presentation of wooing, and some of you know how much of a fan I am of urdu poetry, turned, to my dismay, into a rather pedestrian effort. Sad.Quite sad.

Amir looks stuck in the coke ad that he did six years back. The same cock of the head, the same arrogant manner of stuck, the same loaded smile, they all look gross now. He needs to put his foot down and insist on roles that portray his age more realistically. His talent deserves it. Otherwise he will continue to make a fool of himself trying to play characters half his age.The story itself is nothing great and wouldn't have merited even a first look if it was not a Yashraj movie with these two holding top billing. The title track felt quite catchy and should be the rage for some time at least. And the constant refrain of Subhanallah was rather Sufiyana and gelled well with the overall look and feel. A nice touch indeed. Kajol was luminiscent and Kirron Kher was her usual ebullient self while Rishi Kapoor seems to developed a knack for doing the lead's father's role in a way that defined his heydays.Nice, very nice, but nothing great.

And when even Jaspal Bhatti's jokes fall flat like pancakes you dont know what to make of it all. Brilliant in some flakes, routine for most parts, downright horrible occasionally, it remains a promise unfulfilled. A travesty indeed, for the collective talent that had come together for this one could have achieved great things.

But it was not to be.

And just an afterthought, what was that Sare Jahan se Achcha doing in the credits at the beginning ? Are we reduced to playing that mentioning Jan Gana Mana in a movie to establish that there is a patriotic flavor to the movie? How is this any better than Sunny Deol thundering Jai Hind among 40000 Pakistani soldiers ?